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Full counting statistics for superconducting quantum point contacts

Henning Soller

Published Oct 1, 2013• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The calculation of the full counting statistics (FCS) for quantum mechanical systems has attracted much attention in recent years. In this thesis the FCS for superconducting quantum point contacts have been calculated. Such quantum point contacts frequently occur in modern microelectronic devices, which exploit the special features of superconductors. The FCS for normal metal-superconductor and superconductor-superconductor contacts have been calculated using a generalized Keldysh formalism and the results have been compared to both experimental and theoretical results. The calculation of the FCS allows a precise understanding of the physical nature of charge transfer. Particularly doubled shot noise due to Andreev reflections was explained and the behaviour of the Josephson current for long measurement times was calculated. The obtained results are also valuable for the understanding of transport through quantum dots with superconducting leads.

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Full-counting statistics of charge and spin transport

Gaomin Tang

This thesis investigates the full-counting statistics (FCS) of charge and spin transport using nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) in non-interacting systems. \nGenerating function (GF) encodes all the distribution information and is the key of FCS. For the charge statistics, GF is expressed with respect to the modified evolution operator on the complex contour using the two time measurement scheme, the modified evolution operator is expressed in terms of the modified Hamiltonian. Using Keldysh NEGF technique, GF has the form of Fredholm determinant in terms of Greens functions and self-energies in the time domain. In the long time limit, the celebrated Levitov-Lesovik's formula and the fluctuation relation are derived from this formalism. GF of charge statistics for the quantum point contact system in the transient regime is obtained as well. The transient dynamics in lead-dot-lead transport system, including the cumulants of transferred charges and waiting time distribution defined under the transient regime for different temperatures is investigated numerically. A detailed description on how to calculate the GF in the time domain is presented. Generalizations of the formalism to the ferromagnet-normal-ferromagnet system to investigate the FCS of charge current, spin current and spin transfer torque (STT) are presented. GFs in time domain are Fredholm determinants expressed by NEGF as well. As an application of FCS, a formalism using FCS of STT in the long time limit to calculate the switching probability of a nanomagnet system is proposed. The formalism enables us to calculate the switching probability for nonequilibrium systems which are non-Gaussian. From the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation, the contributions to the change of the anisotropic energy, one is from the power gain due to Gilbert damping and the other is from power dissipation due to the spin transfer torque, were derived. Optimal path approximation which requires the nanomagnet a modestly large volume is presented and the approximation greatly reduces the numerical complexities. This formalism could be used to predict the switching probability numerically for real systems in combination with the first principle calculation.

•Jan 1, 2016•0 citations

Coherent processes in Superconducting quantum interferometers and qubits

J. Lantz

In this thesis we present theoretical investigations of the effects of Andreev bound states on the current transport in superconducting interferometers. We also investigate the slow dynamics of the Andreev states in a superconducting point contact, and the possible application as a quantum bit. We consider superconductor-normal metal-superconductor (SNS) and normal metalsuperconductor (NS) interferometers, where the contact region is a Y-shaped normal metal wave guide, and the two connection points to the same superconducting electrode can have different phases. The electric current in the interferometer is calculated as a function of the applied voltage and the phase difference . Andreev reflection in SNS and NS interferometers incorporates two features: interference in the arms of the Y-shaped normal region, and interplay with Andreev resonances. The latter feature yields rich phase dependent current structures in the subgap voltage region. The interference effect leads to a suppression of the current structures at . We investigate the effects on the Josephson current in NS interferometers due to current injection from the normal electrode. The two main effects of the nonequilibrium situation are: nonequilibrium population of the Andreev levels, which can result in enhancement, suppression, or even sign reversal of the Josephson current, and an anomalous interference Josephson effect, which gives rise to a long range Josephson effect, increasing with the voltage up to the superconducting gap . The two Andreev states in a superconducting quantum point contact can be accessed for manipulation and measurement by embedding the point contact in a superconducting loop. We calculate an effective Hamiltonian for the slow dynamics of the Andreev two-level system in the ring. Furthermore, we discuss methods of manipulation of the Andreev levels, and coupling of qubits. The state of the Andreev two-level system can be read out by monitoring the macroscopic quantum tunneling in a current biased Josephson junction, which is embedded in the superconducting ring of the qubit. We discuss the effects on the qubit, the readout scheme and the signal-to-noise ratio. THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Coherent processes in Superconducting quantum interferometers and qubits

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Fluctuation theorem for counting statistics in electron transport through quantum junctions

Massimiliano Esposito, Upendra Harbola, Shaul Mukamel

We demonstrate that the probability distribution of the net number of electrons passing through a quantum system in a junction obeys a steady-state fluctuation theorem (FT) which can be tested experimentally by the full counting statistics (FCS) of electrons crossing the lead-system interface. The FCS is calculated using a many-body quantum master equation combined with a Liouville space generating function formalism. For a model of two coupled quantum dots, we show that the FT becomes valid for long binning times, and provide an estimate for the finite-time deviations. The Mandel (or Fano) parameter associated with the incoming or outgoing electron transfers shows sub-Poissonian (antibunching) statistics.

arXiv:cond-mat/0702376•Physical Review B•Apr 13, 2007•84 citations

Full counting statistics of Kondo-type tunneling in a quantum dot: Fluctuation effects of the slave-boson field

Bing Dong, Guo-Hui Ding, X. L. Lei

We study the full counting statistics (FCS) of electron tunneling through a multiterminal quantum dot in the Kondo regime within the slave-boson mean-field theory. By employing the method of Gogolin and Komnik for calculating the FCS generating function based on the nonequilibrium Green's function [Phys. Rev. B 73, 195301 (2006)], we obtain the counting field $\ensuremath{\lambda}$-dependent self-consistent equations for the mean values of the slave-boson fields and the explicit expression for the derivative of the adiabatic potential of the system with respect to the counting fields. Performing a perturbative expansion to the first order of $\ensuremath{\lambda}$, we find an extra contribution to the shot noise due to the bias-induced Bose field fluctuation, and then confirm that the nonequilibrium particle number fluctuation plays an important role in the current noise of the Kondo dot: enhancement of the current autocorrelation and a positive current cross-correlation.

arXiv:1111.6231•Physical Review B•Dec 1, 2011•3 citations

Towards full counting statistics for the Anderson impurity model

Alexander O. Gogolin, A. Komnik

We analyze the full counting statistics (FCS) of the charge transport through the Anderson impurity model (AIM) and similar systems with a single conducting channel. The object of principal interest is the generating function for the cumulants of charge current distribution. We derive an exact analytic formula relating the FCS generating function to the self energy of the system in the presence of the measuring field. We first check that our approach reproduces correctly known results in simple limits, such as the FCS of the resonant level system (AIM without Coulomb interaction). We then proceed to study the FCS for the AIM both perturbatively in the Coulomb interaction and in the Kondo regime at the Toulouse point (we also study a related model of a spinless single-site quantum dot coupled to two half-infinite metallic leads in the Luttinger liquid phase at a special interaction strength). At zero temperature the FCS turns out to be binomial for small voltages. For the generic case of arbitrary energy scales the FCS is shown to be captured very well by generalizations of the Levitov-Lesovik type formula. Surprisingly, the FCS for the AIM indicates a presence of coherent electron pair tunnelling in addition to conventional single-particle processes. By means of perturbative expansions around the Toulouse point we succeeded in showing the universality of the binomial FCS at zero temperature in linear response. Based on our general formula for the FCS we then argue for a more general binomial theorem stating that the linear response zero-temperature FCS for any interacting single-channel setup is always binomial.

arXiv:cond-mat/0512174•Physical Review B•May 1, 2006•136 citations

Full counting statistics for noninteracting fermions: Exact results and the Levitov-Lesovik formula

Kurt Schönhammer

Exact numerical results for the full counting statistics (FCS) for a one-dimensional tight-binding model of noninteracting electrons are presented without using an idealized measuring device. The two initially separate subsystems are connected at $t=0$ and the exact time evolution for the large but finite combined system is obtained numerically via a finite dimensional determinant. Even for surprisingly short times the approximate description of the time evolution with the help of scattering states agrees well with the exact result for the local current matrix elements and the FCS. An additional approximation has to be made to recover the Levitov-Lesovik formula in the limit where the system size becomes infinite and afterwards the long time limit is addressed. The derivation of the Levitov-Lesovik formula is generalized to more general geometries such as a Y junction enclosing a magnetic flux.

arXiv:cond-mat/0701620•Physical Review B•May 21, 2007•123 citations
The calculation of the full counting statistics (FCS) for quantum mechanical systems has attracted much attention in recent years. In this thesis the FCS for superconducting quantum point contacts have been calculated. Such quantum point contacts frequently occur in modern microelectronic devices, which exploit the special features of superconductors. The FCS for normal metal-superconductor and superconductor-superconductor contacts have been calculated using a generalized Keldysh formalism and the results have been compared to both experimental and theoretical results. The calculation of the FCS allows a precise understanding of the physical nature of charge transfer. Particularly doubled shot noise due to Andreev reflections was explained and the behaviour of the Josephson current for long measurement times was calculated. The obtained results are also valuable for the understanding of transport through quantum dots with superconducting leads.
This thesis investigates the full-counting statistics (FCS) of charge and spin transport using nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF) in non-interacting systems. \nGenerating function (GF) encodes all the distribution information and is the key of FCS. For the charge statistics, GF is expressed with respect to the modified evolution operator on the complex contour using the two time measurement scheme, the modified evolution operator is expressed in terms of the modified Hamiltonian. Using Keldysh NEGF technique, GF has the form of Fredholm determinant in terms of Greens functions and self-energies in the time domain. In the long time limit, the celebrated Levitov-Lesovik's formula and the fluctuation relation are derived from this formalism. GF of charge statistics for the quantum point contact system in the transient regime is obtained as well. The transient dynamics in lead-dot-lead transport system, including the cumulants of transferred charges and waiting time distribution defined under the transient regime for different temperatures is investigated numerically. A detailed description on how to calculate the GF in the time domain is presented. Generalizations of the formalism to the ferromagnet-normal-ferromagnet system to investigate the FCS of charge current, spin current and spin transfer torque (STT) are presented. GFs in time domain are Fredholm determinants expressed by NEGF as well. As an application of FCS, a formalism using FCS of STT in the long time limit to calculate the switching probability of a nanomagnet system is proposed. The formalism enables us to calculate the switching probability for nonequilibrium systems which are non-Gaussian. From the stochastic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation, the contributions to the change of the anisotropic energy, one is from the power gain due to Gilbert damping and the other is from power dissipation due to the spin transfer torque, were derived. Optimal path approximation which requires the nanomagnet a modestly large volume is presented and the approximation greatly reduces the numerical complexities. This formalism could be used to predict the switching probability numerically for real systems in combination with the first principle calculation.
In this thesis we present theoretical investigations of the effects of Andreev bound states on the current transport in superconducting interferometers. We also investigate the slow dynamics of the Andreev states in a superconducting point contact, and the possible application as a quantum bit. We consider superconductor-normal metal-superconductor (SNS) and normal metalsuperconductor (NS) interferometers, where the contact region is a Y-shaped normal metal wave guide, and the two connection points to the same superconducting electrode can have different phases. The electric current in the interferometer is calculated as a function of the applied voltage and the phase difference . Andreev reflection in SNS and NS interferometers incorporates two features: interference in the arms of the Y-shaped normal region, and interplay with Andreev resonances. The latter feature yields rich phase dependent current structures in the subgap voltage region. The interference effect leads to a suppression of the current structures at . We investigate the effects on the Josephson current in NS interferometers due to current injection from the normal electrode. The two main effects of the nonequilibrium situation are: nonequilibrium population of the Andreev levels, which can result in enhancement, suppression, or even sign reversal of the Josephson current, and an anomalous interference Josephson effect, which gives rise to a long range Josephson effect, increasing with the voltage up to the superconducting gap . The two Andreev states in a superconducting quantum point contact can be accessed for manipulation and measurement by embedding the point contact in a superconducting loop. We calculate an effective Hamiltonian for the slow dynamics of the Andreev two-level system in the ring. Furthermore, we discuss methods of manipulation of the Andreev levels, and coupling of qubits. The state of the Andreev two-level system can be read out by monitoring the macroscopic quantum tunneling in a current biased Josephson junction, which is embedded in the superconducting ring of the qubit. We discuss the effects on the qubit, the readout scheme and the signal-to-noise ratio. THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Coherent processes in Superconducting quantum interferometers and qubits
We demonstrate that the probability distribution of the net number of electrons passing through a quantum system in a junction obeys a steady-state fluctuation theorem (FT) which can be tested experimentally by the full counting statistics (FCS) of electrons crossing the lead-system interface. The FCS is calculated using a many-body quantum master equation combined with a Liouville space generating function formalism. For a model of two coupled quantum dots, we show that the FT becomes valid for long binning times, and provide an estimate for the finite-time deviations. The Mandel (or Fano) parameter associated with the incoming or outgoing electron transfers shows sub-Poissonian (antibunching) statistics.
We study the full counting statistics (FCS) of electron tunneling through a multiterminal quantum dot in the Kondo regime within the slave-boson mean-field theory. By employing the method of Gogolin and Komnik for calculating the FCS generating function based on the nonequilibrium Green's function [Phys. Rev. B 73, 195301 (2006)], we obtain the counting field $\ensuremath{\lambda}$-dependent self-consistent equations for the mean values of the slave-boson fields and the explicit expression for the derivative of the adiabatic potential of the system with respect to the counting fields. Performing a perturbative expansion to the first order of $\ensuremath{\lambda}$, we find an extra contribution to the shot noise due to the bias-induced Bose field fluctuation, and then confirm that the nonequilibrium particle number fluctuation plays an important role in the current noise of the Kondo dot: enhancement of the current autocorrelation and a positive current cross-correlation.
We analyze the full counting statistics (FCS) of the charge transport through the Anderson impurity model (AIM) and similar systems with a single conducting channel. The object of principal interest is the generating function for the cumulants of charge current distribution. We derive an exact analytic formula relating the FCS generating function to the self energy of the system in the presence of the measuring field. We first check that our approach reproduces correctly known results in simple limits, such as the FCS of the resonant level system (AIM without Coulomb interaction). We then proceed to study the FCS for the AIM both perturbatively in the Coulomb interaction and in the Kondo regime at the Toulouse point (we also study a related model of a spinless single-site quantum dot coupled to two half-infinite metallic leads in the Luttinger liquid phase at a special interaction strength). At zero temperature the FCS turns out to be binomial for small voltages. For the generic case of arbitrary energy scales the FCS is shown to be captured very well by generalizations of the Levitov-Lesovik type formula. Surprisingly, the FCS for the AIM indicates a presence of coherent electron pair tunnelling in addition to conventional single-particle processes. By means of perturbative expansions around the Toulouse point we succeeded in showing the universality of the binomial FCS at zero temperature in linear response. Based on our general formula for the FCS we then argue for a more general binomial theorem stating that the linear response zero-temperature FCS for any interacting single-channel setup is always binomial.
Exact numerical results for the full counting statistics (FCS) for a one-dimensional tight-binding model of noninteracting electrons are presented without using an idealized measuring device. The two initially separate subsystems are connected at t=0t=0t=0 and the exact time evolution for the large but finite combined system is obtained numerically via a finite dimensional determinant. Even for surprisingly short times the approximate description of the time evolution with the help of scattering states agrees well with the exact result for the local current matrix elements and the FCS. An additional approximation has to be made to recover the Levitov-Lesovik formula in the limit where the system size becomes infinite and afterwards the long time limit is addressed. The derivation of the Levitov-Lesovik formula is generalized to more general geometries such as a Y junction enclosing a magnetic flux.